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Curious to hear about people’s recent experiences with the Sun Princess Reserve dining room. One or two early reviews I read suggested disappointment. Typically any wait for a table? Service good? Food good? 

My upgrade bid was accepted and I'm happy to have a Reserve Cabana mini-suite.  (Happy except for the high blue plexiglass on the balconies on that deck.)  It's room 9207, which is right above the Princess Arena.  I don't go to bed before 11, so I'm assuming that any shows will be over by then, but can anyone tell me, from their own experience in that same area of Deck 9, whether noise is likely to be a problem other than when shows are in progress?

3 minutes ago, Wishing on a star said:

If you have not received any notice of a room assignment,  have you double checked your booking?  I have heard that the room number can show up there well before any notice is received.

nope, just checked 

Got email that my medallion has been shipped. The problem is I have a guaranteed reservation but I have still not been assigned a room. How does this work? In order to open your door, doesn’t the medallion need to know what room you’re in? Or is it more technologically advanced than a hotel key card? I was hoping for a speedy embarkation in the green line. Will I need to stop somewhere to have the thing reprogrammed?

On 4/24/2024 at 5:12 PM, JamieLogical said:

 

I do not believe the OP wants/needs an accessible cabin. When they booked a GTY, the lowest deluxe balcony cabin category it was not defined as accessible cabins as the deck plans had not been released. Now the concern is because they are booked into an "accessible cabin category" they can only upgraded to another accessible cabin category, which the OP does not want or need and limits their upgrade options.

Right, thank you. It would be nice if people read and understood as you have.

5 hours ago, MacMadame said:

Try calling the CVP line and see if they will move you to a different cabin rather than relying on the bidding process. Even if the cruise is sold out, you might get a solution from them as sometimes cabins are held back and don't appear online.

 

(I'm assuming you didn't book through a TA or CVP because otherwise, you wouldn't be asking here but making them fix it. 😄)

Thanks, I've never been able to find a "CVP line."  Everything seems to go to the standard offshore "customer service" line.  Any suggestions on how to reach a CVP?

5 hours ago, MacMadame said:

Try calling the CVP line and see if they will move you to a different cabin rather than relying on the bidding process. Even if the cruise is sold out, you might get a solution from them as sometimes cabins are held back and don't appear online.

 

(I'm assuming you didn't book through a TA or CVP because otherwise, you wouldn't be asking here but making them fix it. 😄)

Thanks.  How do I reach a CVP?  Is there a different number from the ordinary "customer service"? Do they have magical powers the people in "customer service" don't?  I got a call out of the blue from a CVP a few weeks ago who promised to get back to me about something and never did.  Now when I try to call back the number he called from, I just get dumped into the ordinary "customer service" queue.  

8 minutes ago, SCX22 said:

This isn't a Princess problem.  It's your anxiety getting to you.

 

Wouldn't jump the gun.  Just because you don't see availability, doesn't mean that there isn't non accessible availability in said category.  You could be upgraded at no cost.  The ivory tower has the infinite wisdom on this subject.  That's how GTY bookings work.

 

Another situation is that there could be move over offers put forth and those willing to accept will produce availability and you will be assigned one of the cabins that those people have freed up.

 

Not sure where your gripe about the bidding system comes from because no where does it say in the bidding system that you're guaranteed to win.  If you can pay the max bid now, you should have considered higher categories when you booked.  When you max out category bids, the total fare comes very close to paying the full fare of higher categories.

 

Patience is a virtue.

As I’ve explained, I had no idea I was being put into this undesirable room category. When I reserved the ship was still being built, there were no deck plans, and I wasn’t told it was an accessible room, just that I had a balcony.

2 minutes ago, cruzsnooze said:

You knew you were bidding on handicap balcony so you knew that you could end up in one if I'm reading your post correctly.

You’re not.

I hold a “guaranteed” reservation in a DF class balcony room, which are all handicap-accessible in awful locations with metal balconies.  I don’t need and dont want this kind of room.My reservation was made before deck plans of the ship were available, so I had no idea this was the kind of room I was being put in before I had to pay in full.

Desperate to find something else, I have put maximum bids on four other types of rooms. Despite putting the maximum bid possible on a cabana reserve mini suite, over the weekend I received an email that I had been “outbid.“ So I raised my bid and am now supposedly “in the lead.“ Yet someone else sailing the same date as I am just got an upgrade today to the same type of room. I have heard nothing.
 

Calling the “customer service“ people was an infuriating waste of time, because those people respond to any question or complaint like robots who have been programmed to be as unhelpful as possible, robots who moreover do not speak understandable English.

Princess might run nice ships, but their bidding and customer service systems suck. 

If anyone recently bid successfully to upgrade to a reserve cabana mini suite on Sun, would you be willing to disclose the amount of the winning bid? I had already bid the highest amount, now Princess tells me I've been "outbid" and they want more. 

On 4/18/2024 at 1:01 AM, Sox Fan Cruiser said:

They also said that the buses run until 4:30 but all aboard wasn’t until 5:30 so I was confused. The water taxi was operating right up until 5:30. They also have a number of them going back and forth. It was one boat where you would have to wait until it came back to get on. They were constantly going back and forth. 

Thank you for taking the time to follow up and for the helpful information!

9 minutes ago, reedprincess said:

Accessible Deluxe Balcony cabins pics. Hope that helps. 

Yes, your balcony will be wider than average, as your cabin itself is wider and more spacious.

 

 

9 minutes ago, reedprincess said:

Accessible Deluxe Balcony cabins pics. Hope that helps. 

Yes, your balcony will be wider than average, as your cabin itself is wider and more spacious.

 

 

Thank you!  Are you able to tell me what room number this is?  Is it one of the Deck 9 or Deck 16 accessibles?  

Does anyone have experience or photos of these balcony rooms at the front of the ship?  They're wheelchair-accessible and on the deck map look larger than other deluxe balconies. 

I'm trying to decide whether to raise my bid for a Reserve mini-suite on Sun Princess.  I'm specifically interested in the Reserve dining room.  At least one early report said the service was disappointing.  For those who have been on recently, how were the wait times for a table and the service overall?  Thanks! 

Does anyone have photos or information about rooms 16103 or 16104?  These appear to be unusually large balcony rooms at the front of the ship.  One is noted as wheelchair-accessible.  Thanks! 

I'm trying to decide whether to raise my bid for a Reserve mini-suite on Sun Princess.  I'm specifically interested in the Reserve dining room.  At least one early report said the service was disappointing.  For those who have been on recently, how were the wait times for a table and the service overall?  Thanks!  

For those who have been on most recently, was there ever much of a wait for walk-up seating in Horizons Deck 7?  I gather that on Deck 7, you wouldn't necessarily get the same waiter every night, or do they try to arrange that even if you come at different times? 

Do the main dining rooms have sommeliers in addition to the waiters?

Does anyone know from experience whether Princess runs its own shuttle buses on Mykonos from the New Port to Chora (Mykonos town) and back?  If so, do you know how frequently and how late they run?  Thanks!  

1 hour ago, avonlady6390 said:

My cvp lives in Florida and is always available if I need help with a booking I'm glad I don't need to call one of those call centers in the Philippines if I have an issue.

Is this person employed by Princess?  Or are they more like an independent travel agent? 

22 minutes ago, leck57 said:

 

My CVP story is that I entered a competition in the newspaper to win a Princess cruise. Thinking I'd start getting marketing emails I put my "junk" email address as contact. Sure enough an email arrived with a CVP appointed who is based in the Philippines - I'm guessing in the same building where the useless off shore Call Centre is located. Probably wouldn't know the first thing about cruising. I use a TA and will continue that way or just book myself online.

 

As you say, some on here have had great experience with their CVP but if you go searching for one from scratch these days you'll probably end up with a Call Centre dude.

Interesting. I assumed this guy was a sort of concierge who would do things like help make dinner and spa reservations.

I received a call today from someone who identified himself as my Princess “cruise planner.” Is this a thing?  I wondered if it was a scam, but he didn’t ask for any personal info and the Caller ID said Princess. He seemed to have specific information, such as saying with confidence I’d be notified one week out about my stateroom assignment and whether my upgrade bid had been accepted. 

15 hours ago, ivanp91 said:

 

Reserve Cabana Mini Suites are located on Deck 9 and get access to the Cabana areas located on the same deck (effectively a private area with loungers and hot tubs). These guests also get access to the Reserve Collection restaurant.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I think ALL cabana mini suites have access to the additional private "cabana deck" space, right?  "Reserve" gives you access to the separate restaurant and other vague and unspecified Reserve "amenities." 

19 minutes ago, euro cruiser said:

No, I haven't personally used them but they are transfer companies more so than the tour companies that market to cruisers.

Thanks for the tip -- they're very well-reviewed on Tripadvisor! 

7 minutes ago, euro cruiser said:

Here are some to try. 

 

Naples NCC - Rental with driver, Transfer, Tourist Services, VIP Transfer (napolincc.com)

 

Noleggio con conducente Napoli: NCC Napoli

 

Ncc Napoli - Noleggio con Conducente

 

For those without English language pages you can use google translate to understand.  You may find better rates if you don't require an English speaking driver.

Thanks.  Have you had experience with any of these?